Sanchez in the big city!!

Want to see the newsroom at CNN New York? Rick filled in for Campbell Brown Friday night, and gives us a little walk-through.

OK, ready for something new? How about a Sanchez POST-SHOW SHOW?
Cool, huh? Yeah, we thought so.

Here's how it works: Rick Sanchez is live from 3-4 PM ET. After he hands off to Wolf Blitzer, we switch to CNN.COM for an additional 15 minutes of conversation, informal chit-chat with our guests, and of course, TONS of social networking! We'll read your Twitter/MySpace/Facebook comments we didn't have time to hit during our short one hour on TV.

Basically, it's everything we WANT to talk about from 3:00 to 4:00 ET, but can't because of time contraints and commericials.

It's laid-back, commercial-free, and LIVE on the web!

So go to CNN.COM/LIVE at 4:00 PM ET, and join us. CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION!

www.cnn.com/live

Sanchez & Johnny

It's the most repeated phrase in the news these days: "A Wise Latina Woman." Watch the Sonia Sotomayor confirmation hearings for five minutes. You'll hear it a lot.

Well, Rick Sanchez knows a thing or two about "wise Latina women." He's surrounded by them! He was raised by one! So Rick headed south this week to Miami. He talked to a few of those 'wise Latina women' about Judge Sotomayor and the prospect of her joining the United States Supreme Court.

Rick & His Mom

Watch this clip. You'll hear directly from the WISEST Latina woman in Rick's life: his mom.

Rick Sanchez' mom and Wolf Blitzer in the same report?? Wow, that doesn't happen very often...

Ali Velshi sits in for Rick Sanchez all this week.

Rick Sanchez: on vacation.
Ali Velshi: Twitter-savvy and loves smart, interactive conversation!

How's he doing?

What an opportunity! CNN's Twitterin'est anchor Rick Sanchez was invited to sit on the panel of the social media/journalism gathering 140 Characters Conference in New York. Did he expect a friendly chit-chat with new-wave journalists about the joys of social media? No, that's not what the conference was about. Did the audience go easy on Rick and the other so-called mainstream media representatives? Oh, no.

It was all about how Twitter/MySpace/Facebook and all those other social media sites are changing the way the world communicates. And as we're seeing in Iran right now, sometimes, those resources are the only conduit through which information emerges from a strongly-controlled environment.

It's new. It's exciting. And Rick Sanchez is CNN's pioneer into this new world of instant and mass communication.

Tell us what YOU think. How do you see the news landscape in this instant-gratification age of Twitter/MySpace/Facebook? Please leave a comment below these pictures from the 140 Characters Conference.

CNN's Rick Sanchez, FOX News' Clayton Morris, NBC's Ann Curry, and 'Today' show producer Ryan Osborn at the 140 Characters Conference in New York.

Brian Solis, Robert Scoble, Rick Sanchez.

Rick Sanchez updates his faithful Twitter followers mid-conference.

Master Photographer Rick Sanchez captures his view of the 140 Characters Conference.

Look! A Sanchez wanna-be! The guys at Plan C Comedy are so taken by CNN's interactive afternoon newscast, that they're channeling Rick Sanchez.

We gotta admit. It's not bad. The voice is close. The delivery? Perfect. But dude, the hair needs a LOT of work.

Think you can do better? Show us! We'd love to see your best Rick Sanchezesque newscast. Shoot it, send it, and we'll throw it up here on the blog. (And go easy on the guy, huh? He's sensitive.)

But he's crying on the inside.